“16 of our comrades were martyred, after they showed the highest forms of resistance and sacrifice and thwarted the attacks of the occupation and its mercenaries,” the SDF said in a statement about the Kurdish-led force’s clashes with Turkish-backed militants.
The SDF has come under expanded attacks by the Ankara-backed SNA, which is part of a broader coalition of militia groups that toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The SDF says that the attacks have hindered their operations against the Islamic State (ISIS).
Several US Senators have expressed support for the SDF. On Friday, Chris Van Hollen and Lindsey Graham introduced sanctions on Turkey in response to its ongoing attacks on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
The SDF is the main ally of the US-led global coalition against ISIS in Syria.
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi has warned during a series of interviews with international media that the ISIS threat has recently increased following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and amid escalating tensions between the SDF and Turkey-backed militia groups in northern Syria.
